Hi there LauriA78, I am right there with you I am doing the couch potato to 5k active link on my android. Hopefully it will work. I want a small goal of being able to run for more than 1 minute without falling over out of breath. And the 5 straight minutes and then up to a mile. There are people out there that run 5+ miles without stopping. I am just over 200 and I've lost 22 lbs over the past 5 months. And I have Lupus as well as Fibromyalgia, so being more active and healthy would help my illness so much more. There are so many plans out there, just find one that you think would be best for you. You can even try them out and find out which one would be best for you to follow. I think it all takes time and what ever plan works best for you is what you should use. In the end we will all end up in the same place, being able to run a 5k. The right shoes does help. I would suggest going to a sports store and trying several pairs on and finding out which ones feel most comfortable. Make sure to walk around the store in them. The employees will know why. As far as when to run, where to run, I think it is what works best for you. I actually enjoy working out later in the day. And it is best to make sure you eat before you do any exercise otherwise your blood sugar will drop and you will either faint or give up early. Hang in there girl

Hi. I am a 59, 5'10" and weigh 240 lbs. (I was 285 lbs. on 1/1/2013). Getting diagnosed with Type II diabetes really gives a person motivation to change their life. I am now working out at the gym Monday thru Friday ... alternative aerobic and strength training. My knees have become painful, but I am determined to run 5Ks again. In high school, I was a pretty good cross country runner, and even finished a 10K in 44 minutes when I was 39 years old. After that, I just developed a fondness for food and gained all that weight over the next 20 years. You really meet great people at 5Ks, and I hope to run one again soon. I think I need to get close to 200 lbs., before I will feel comfortable entering a 5K. I am going for a "gait analysis" at the Boston Running Center next week, and I am hoping they can help recommend shoes or an orthotic if needed, that will help me to run a 5K. I was happy to find this forumn on Active.com and would like to encourage all to keep moving forward. I have this "dream" about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in April 2014, but I am not sure it is doable considering the diet that is now my reality ... oh well, will just have to consider researching if it could be possible. I love reading everyone's posts, want to say Hi, and look forward to hearing from others. Regards, Joe.

Hi I'm new to running...well I'm on week 4 going into week 5 of the couch to 10K. I never ran before now and I am looking for encouragement. I am a mom of 4 teens/college age kids and 41. Since starting to run (and I bike 3.5 miles after the run each time) I have noticed my pants tighter and gained 5 pounds. I was already knocking on 300 pounds and now this has placed me at 302. It's painful to do so much hard work and be eating healthy and see this. People have told me I look healthier and my face has a "glow". Althought this makes me very happy and I feel proud of what I am doing is there anyone else on this site who is gaining due to running? Encouragement would be much appreciated Also...I'm new to groups and things I responded to this "thread" (whatever that is LOL) but don't see where you join the 200 plus club? Help? LOL

My 2 cents? I am not a morning person so I decided at 9:30 at night no one needed me to run errands, pick them up or any of the other things that got in the way of exercising. For ME (my opinion) this time works for me as the heat here in SC is dropped off by then, I don't have to be seen in my workout clothes huffing and puffing, if it's super hard I can climb in the shower and fall into bed without having to go do anything after. It isn't fun to have to end the day running hard, but it has worked and nothing has come between the run and myself unlike other things in the past at other times of the day. That's what works for me, hope it helps Oh and I'm only on week 4 so new to all this as well

Wow, great thread with lots of great participants and inspiring stories; sounds like it's time for me to join in.

I've been a runner off and on for most of my life, pretty much even before I started racing at the age of 14. The problem with that statement is the "off" part; due to professional and family commitments combined with not one but two broken legs, my running has been pretty hit and miss, and even when I had a few spare moments, it was hard to motivate myself to go out for even a few steps during the busier periods. I'm now 56 years old, have one kid out of the house (he's joining the Navy), and another one declaring her independence more and more every day, and as of April I reduced my work load to one job which has freed up some 30 hours per week of my time. At that point my 5'8" frame was carrying some 250 pounds (per my scale, more like 255 at the Doctor's office), and running was something I knew I'd either need to start immediately or slide even further into Morbid Obesity.

Due to gait issues from my broken legs (range of motion, and arthritis pain), I run almost exclusively on dirt trails, and I managed 40 very slow miles in April. In May I picked it up a bit and logged 54 miles, and by the end of the month I was down in the mid-240s, and while I wouldn't exactly say I was "running", I was at least pick'n'em up and putt'n'em down fast enough to keep myself encourage that better days were ahead. The first half of June featured cool enough weather to allow me to put in over 50 miles, and the second half, while warmer was still nice enough for me to add on nearly 80 more miles; by the end of June I'd logged 136 miles and dropped into the upper-220s in weight.

July brought with it some rather intense heat and humidity, and even on the tree shrouded trails I run on, the air was oppressive to say the least. I am a firm believer in the old-school running philosophy of Long Slow Distance (LSD) when it comes to getting into better running shape, and by that I mean building a base of miles to allow the muscles (which develop rather quickly), and the tendons and ligaments (both of which develop rather slowly) to gradually strengthen before trying any speed work. Given the heat of July, I had no option but to add more LSD running to my base, in the end I managed to run 218 miles which eclipsed the 170 mile mark I set back in 1979 when I was training for my one and only marathon. My weight continued to drop as well, ending July in the mid "two-teens".

For August I'm thinking about shooting for 250 (mostly slow) miles in the hope of sneaking below 200 pounds for the first time since I broke my right leg back in 2003. So far I've logged 59 miles including a 5K road race last night. Item of note, last night's race was my first 5K road race I've entered in 34 years, I managed to log a "Net Time" of 25:20, which I'm more than happy with given my age and weight. This is of course why I'm here in the first place, I had to go to the coolrunning.com web site to find my time for the race, and that's where I found the link to the 200+ Pound Club.

My firm hope for myself and all of y'all who contribute here is that by taking inspiration from this group, we can all use a running lifestyle to drop our weight and improve our health to the point where we become 200+ Pound Club alumni.

Impressive story and congratulations on getting to the mid-teens so quickly. I started in January at 285, and am just under 240 now, so I can appreciate what you have accomplished. 25:20 for your first 5K in 34 years ... wow, you have to be proud of that. I am hoping to break 200 by the end of the year. I do not think I am ready for a 5K yet, but hope to be soon. Keep up the great progress !

Congratulations on the 45 pounds you've shed (and probably the four to six inches in your belt size as well); it takes a lot of commitment to work off that kind of weight in just a few months, and if you're like me, it took a lot longer to put it on then it took us to take it back off.

Regarding when you'll be ready to run a 5K, yesterday's race (the Cigna/Elliot Hospital 5K in Manchester, NH) featured nearly 6,000 participants and many of them are very much candidates for this club. Said another way, you've been running for over seven months now, and even if you're 5K pace is barely faster than a walk (and I suspect you're faster than that), you would have A) finished, and B) easily bested a quarter of the field. As a suggestion, you might want to look around for a large race somewhere in your area, usually large races welcome runners, walkers, and folks that do a little of both, and when you're in such a large group, there is always someone around to offer encouragement.

In an effort to monitor my hydration when the weather changes or when I change my distance, intensity, or trail, I routinely weigh myself before hydrating, after hydrating, and again after my run. This morning I was 208.1 when I got up, 212.4 after drinking two large pots of green tea, and 200.6 after my run. Yeah, I know, dehydrated/post-run weigh-ins don't count, but geez, I so wanted to see the scale register a number that started with a "1" and not with a "2". Maybe next week.

Hello All! I am new to Active and definitely in the 200+ Club. In Jan 2005 I joined Weight Watchers at 249.6lb b/c I ached too much to only be 25... by July 2008 I was down to 192 the lowest I'd been since high school! I know that isn't much for two and a half yrs, but that was all a result of healthy eating. My Hubby and I moved from Ithaca, NY back to Illinois and with the move came much larger portion sizes, and a very sick mom (stress and depression) , and all the weigh was back. Fast forward to today, I have a beautiful 22 month old son and mom's been gone 14 months. and I have to get this weight off. I have walked two 5k's on in Dec. 2012 and my PR was 59 minutes, did my second 5k walk Memorial day weekend this time pushing my 31lb son in a stroller, with a backpack full of diaper bag items,water,cracker,etc and my PR was 56.30! I was Psyched!!! I asked for and received a membership to Planet Fitness from my hubby for Christmas and it obviously paid off as I improved my time with about 40lb of extra weight!! I have registered and am training for a 5K on Oct 12, Running DEAD!!! Zombie costumes and a post party!! The husband said he'd dress up if I ran. (Challenge accepted;) I am just having a very difficult time training. I have good shoes, and a great playlist, but I feel so drained by about 10minutes in that I usually end up walking the last 20minutes at about 3.5-4.0mph speed.

I must also add that my husband wrestled in High School and has always weighed less than me (accept for about a month in 2008;) He started lifting and running over a yr ago lost over 40lbs and is in better shape than he's been in since high school. He is VERY supportive and his hunky look is motivation too;) BUUUTTTTTT>>>>>>>

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?!?!?!? Should I be eating, hydrating more (I drink at least 70oz of water daily not including during workouts), take suppliments or something pre-race?? HELP!!!!!!

OMGosh! I can't believe I found you guys again! Everytime I would try to log into Active.com I would get this page that said they were stretching their quads and working on the site...after weeks of getting it, I decided to found C25K first and go backwards...and here y'all are!!!!

I think last time I checked in I was accepted in the Fatty Must Run Marathon Challenge. Since then I joined a running group and a gym. I swim on Monday and Wednesdays and run Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and long run on Saturdays. I have learned so much with the running group about nutrition and hydration, heart rate training. I am so excited I found you guys again. I'll be back later!

I forgot SMod..welcome to the group. If you are pooping out too soon, you may be starting out too fast.

Are you doing a warm up walk or exercises before you start running? What time of day are you running? If in the morning, remember to break your fast (sleeping) by eating something in the morning. Or if running in the evening, make sure that you have had something recently.

Maybe if the run was more fun...if Zombies are your thing there is an app for android and iphones called ZombieRun2. It has GPS so it tracks your run and pace, allows you to play your playlist but it also puts you in the middle of a game where you a human after the zombie apocolypse and your plane just crashes. Base tries to get you back to base and warn you of zombies. I did a review of it on my blog and there is a short video on it also. It's great if you are into Zombies. The more you run, the more supplies you get.

I take G1 gooeys before I run and depending on the heat level or humidity, I take electrolyte tabs during my run.

Don't compare yourself to your husband. My husband smokes 2 packs a day and has not ran in 15 years. About 3 weeks ago he decided to start running with me and my running group...yeah, his pace was faster than ours, his form was perfect and he made it look easy. (We all hated him. LOL) And when the run was over...he went to the car and had a cigarrette. (sigh) so compare yourself to yourself. Maybe once a month run a 5K to track your improvements. Use a running app that keeps your runs history and review them each month to see the difference. but it sounds like you are already doing that since you know your time has improved, which by the way, congratulations!

Way Kool to all you Clydesdales and Athenas. Hang in there! Its not easy, but its the best for us. I'm a 52 y/o - 250+lb master(age grouper) clydesdale triathlete who has slowed to a 2:30/100m swim, 16 mph bike and 12+ min miler. My claim to fame is that I completed the FL 70.3 Ironman in 2011 and quite proud of it. My wife and I have accomplished 3 1/2 marathons so far this year with another two more scheduled in 2013 along with the Army 10 miler and the National Triathlon in DC. I'm slow and at times my run is as fast as my walk (I see the tourtise pass me at times) but I'm good with that.

I just really wanted to say HI and say that I'm proud of all your accomplishments. One step at a time and hang in there.

I just or should I say will start the C2k5 program tomorrow. I walk a lot on the treadmill and hate when I jog, I get shin splints and that makes me not want to run any more. But I know I have to so, here goes my all tomorrow. I have to get through the first day. Oh, I'm at 266 up and down between 264. I started @298 myself. Been working out for three years and really getting into in in the last year. I love lifting weights. I am very strong for a 5'4 woman. So trying to ear clean and get this running thing started and keep going.

Hi Lyndon! Good for you starting C25K. I am trying to eat clean also. I didn't even know what that was until 6 weeks ago. Maybe we could share recipes. I miss doing weights. But I am trying to do the 30 days squat challenge. My husband said the first time I did it, he could see a difference in my bum. He said it sat higher. LOL

I went to a running clinic where they analyzed our run have video taping it and playing it back slow speed (not a pretty sight for this 216 lb gal) but while there they said that shin splints are usually an indication of improper form. I wrote a blog article about the 4 things to watch when you run. you can read it here: Good Form Running. Maybe it will help with the pain. Also good shoes are important. I swear by my Asics Gel-Kayano 19 shoes. I need alot of stability and I have a wide foot so it seems to help.